With the EP Elephants and Border Bulldogs experiencing slim pickings in the SA Cup and Currie Cup First Division, ambitious club rugby teams from both regions will be seeking to reap richer harvests on the national stage when the Pick n Pay Gold Cup kicks off in September.
Powerhouse sides Gardens and Harlequins have been confirmed as EP’s representatives, and East London Police and Young Leopards will carry the torch for Border.
This year’s tournament celebrates a special milestone because it will be the 10th time that club players from across the country will compete for the priceless 97-year-old nine-carat Gold Cup trophy.
In 2025, Villager advanced to the semifinals when they pipped never-say-die Kariega side Gardens 40-35 after a thrill-a-minute tussle in Cape Town.
With 20 of the 32 teams now confirmed, the race to fill the remaining 12 slots is on in provincial leagues from Gauteng and Mpumalanga to North West and the Western Cape, where the current season’s results determine who qualifies.
The action will be just as fierce in the coming weeks in those unions who use the previous year’s league standings to determine Gold Cup qualification.
Already-qualified clubs are chasing domestic silverware while also using the matches as crucial preparation for the national stage.
The latest clubs to qualify include an exciting mix of old and new.
Perennial SWD contenders Evergreens, who reached the last eight of the inaugural Gold Cup in 2013, will make a welcome return alongside another Garden Route heavyweight, Groot-Brak.
They will be joined by Bethlehem Oud-Skoliere of the Griffons, who will play in the Gold Cup for the first time having been a giant of Eastern Free State community rugby for decades.
The Gold Cup’s roots can be traced back to 1975, when the University of Stellenbosch’s Maties beat Durban Collegians in the first-ever National Club Championship final.
Thirty-one years into the professional era, the Gold Cup remains SA’s premier national club tournament, serving as an aspirational platform for every single one of the country’s 1,197 clubs and their 118,000 registered players.
It has also evolved with the times into a highly popular knockout competition filled to the brim with jeopardy and providing a competitive stage for more clubs than at any point in its history.
Since its post-pandemic return to the competition calendar in 2023, the format of the Gold Cup has effectively mirrored the knockout stages of soccer’s recently completed Fifa World Cup.
The action will begin on September 26 with a Round of 32, comprising two clubs from each of the 15 provincial unions, defending champions Naka Bulls and one wild card.
“The 2025 Pick n Pay Gold Cup was a great success and represented a turning point in terms of the evolution of the community game,” SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said.
“The way fans bought into the vibe was a pleasure to behold, and we intend to build on that foundation in 2026.”
Confirmed teams:
Bulls: Sanlam Naka Bulls (as defending champions), Grizzlies, Centurion.
Boland: Saldanha, Roses United.
Border: East London Police, Young Leopards.
Eastern Province: Gardens, Harlequins.
Griffons: Welkom Club, Bethlehem Oud-Skoliere.
Griquas: Sishen Kimberley.
KZN: College Rovers, Crusaders.
Limpopo: Northam Rhinos Limpopo 2 – TBC after Limpopo League final on August 29.
SWD: Evergreens, Groot-Brak.
Valke: Vereeniging, Brakpan.
List of Gold Cup Champions:
2013: Despatch (EP)
2014: Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)
2015: Durbanville-Bellville (WP)
2016: Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)
2017: False Bay (WP)
2018: No tournament as Gold Cup transitioned from post-season to pre-season timeslot
2019: Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)
2020-2022: Did not take place due to COVID
2023-2025: Sanlam Naka Bulls (Bulls).
- In an EPRU Grand Challenge club rugby match played at the Central Field in Kariega on Saturday, Brumbies beat Progress 34-31.
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